Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a bicycle cleat positioning device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bicycle cleat positioning device which includes a shoe holder.
Background Information
Pedals are an essential bicycle component in that they transfer cycling power to the bicycles drive train. Different styles of bicycles utilize different bicycle pedal styles that are designed for a specific purpose such as for pleasure, off road biking, road racing, etc. In recent years, step-in or clipless pedals have gained more popularity. The step-in or clipless pedal releasably engages a cleat secured to the sole of a rider's bicycle shoe. In other words, the cleats are attached to the soles of bicycle shoes. The cleats lock the rider's feet into pedals of bicycle. More specifically, the cleats lock the rider's feet position and the rider's feet angle with respect to the pedals of the bicycle. Thus, for the sake of rider's comfort and cycling performance while riding the bicycle, the cleats need to be properly adjusted with respect to the soles of the bicycle shoes.
Conventionally, cleats are adjusted with respect to bicycle shoes with bicycle cleat positioning devices. A conventional bicycle cleat positioning device mainly has a cleat positioning structure and a shoe support structure (See French Patent Application Publication No. 2 940 020, for example). The cleat positioning structure is adjustable with respect to the shoe support structure for positioning a cleat with respect to a bicycle shoe. The shoe support structure supports the bicycle shoe with respect to the bicycle cleat positioning device. The shoe support structure further includes a heel part that holds a heel of the bicycle shoe, and a toe part that supports a toe of the bicycle shoe. In particular, the toe part of the shoe support has a contact portion and a lifting portion for positioning the bicycle shoe to a reference orientation with respect to the bicycle cleat positioning device. Specifically, the contact portion of the toe part is manually and slidably adjusted relative to the heel part such that the contact portion contacts with an outer side face of the toe of the bicycle shoe, which adjusts a heading angle of a longitudinal axis of the bicycle shoe with respect to the heel part. The lifting portion of the toe part is also manually and elevationally adjusted relative to the heel part while the lifting portion contacts with an upper face of the toe of the bicycle shoe, which adjusts an elevation angle of the longitudinal axis of the bicycle shoe with respect to the heel part.
With this conventional bicycle cleat positioning device, the bicycle shoe is mounted to the shoe support structure, and then is adjusted with respect to the bicycle cleat positioning device before the cleat is adjusted with respect to the bicycle shoe. The bicycle shoe needs to be accurately adjusted with respect to the bicycle cleat positioning device for properly positioning the cleat with respect to the sole of the bicycle shoe.